Connor Irvin of Luray, Va., turned 8 years old in April. Like you might expect, Connor had an awesome birthday party complete with Minecraft decorations, a homemade cake, games, and lots and lots of presents. But what you might not expect is that all of those presents weren’t actually for Connor. Instead, the second-grader asked that party-goers forgo the gifts and instead bring art supplies that Connor planned to hand-deliver to St. Mary’s Home for the Disabled.
It turns out, Connor is not alone in his generosity. He’s actually part of a growing trend among kids who are choosing to ask for charitable donations rather than gifts. The Christian Science Monitor recently ran a story about 11-year-old Claire Hall of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who hasn’t received a birthday gift since she was 4. Instead of gifts, Claire has asked friends and family members to give her pet supplies: food, treats, toys and other items she can donate to the Cleveland Animal Protective League.
An increasing number of nonprofits say they are being helped by these pint-size philanthropists who are willing to give up their gifts from birthdays, graduations, and bar and bat mitzvahs to donate to a good cause.
How can you encourage kids who want to receive donations for a cause rather than gifts for their next celebration? According to Connor’s mom, Elizabeth, it’s best to make it a meaningful experience for the child rather than a chore. “I let him kind of take charge of what he wanted to do. He was given money to go in and was very careful to pick out stuff for the kids. Showing him pictures of the group helped him to get an understanding of who he was buying for. Honestly, I don’t know what I did to give him such a big heart. I just encouraged it. Every year for Christmas we go through his toys and donate the things he has outgrown. Our whole world is focused more on appreciating experiences and the things we have rather than the things we want,” she added.
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